Potez 230
Potez · France · first flew 1940 · fighter
The Potez 230 was a French lightweight single-seat, single-engined fighter. One prototype was built and flew in 1940, but no production followed.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Low-mounted, elliptical |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Oval-section fuselage with an enclosed cockpit |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Low-wing cantilever monoplane with an elliptical wing
- Oval-section fuselage with an enclosed cockpit
- Three-bladed Ratier propeller on a Hispano-Suiza V12
The wings were built around an integral torsion box, the first example of this structure to have flown, and had split trailing-edge flaps.
Specifications
- The Potez 230 has a length of 7.57 m (25 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 8.74 m (29 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 560 km/h (348 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
The former Les Mureaux design team began work on it in 1938 as a more advanced development of the ANF Les Mureaux 190. The unarmed prototype made its maiden flight at Villacoublay on 30 March 1940.
Variants
Only the one prototype was built. The planned armament was a 20 mm cannon between the cylinder banks and four 7.5 mm machine guns in the wings.
Where you'll see it
Testing was relatively trouble-free, and the aircraft reached 560 km/h at 5,000 m. The German invasion disrupted testing and the prototype was captured at Villacoublay in June 1940 and shipped to Germany for study.
Related aircraft
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